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reviewer909060 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Performs well for our use case
Pros and Cons
  • "SQL Server's performance is fine."
  • "SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms."

What is our primary use case?

It's a normal DMS, so it can be used everywhere you want to use any RDBMS or relational database. It's for normal transactions.

What needs improvement?

SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using SQL Server for the last six months. Earlier we used DB2, but now we use this one.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SQL Server's performance is fine.

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How are customer service and support?

Microsoft support is fine.

How was the initial setup?

We don't deal with the setup because we are developers. The system or admin team does all those things. So I don't have any idea.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SQL Server eight out of 10. We haven't had any issues, but it depends on the use case. So I would recommend it depending on your use case.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1613988 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to manage with good stability and knowledgable technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to set up."
  • "The configuration process can be a little complex."

What is most valuable?

We find the Microsoft SQL Server affordable compared to its real competitors. 

We find it easy to manage. 

It offers a very robust infrastructure for us.

The solution is easy to set up.

We have found the stability to be good.

We've had a good experience with technical support. They are helpful.

What needs improvement?

We may use different levels of SQL Server when it comes to licensing. We have some Enterprise and some Standard services. They can improve the recovery processes of the replication or disaster recovery scenarios for the lower-tiered version, such as the Standard server.

While we have many options in Enterprise, it's expensive for most companies.

The configuration process can be a little complex. 

Technical support can take a while to respond in Turkey.

The solution may be better with some integration with some factory cloud software. With the standard version, the lodgement process is never enough. We are replicating near real-time to make recovery easy and to make all the RPO targets as expected. 

You cannot recover SQL Servers, especially for big financial companies like ours. It's not easy to erect SQL Servers on any other site, and with an acceptable data loss in the foundations.

For how long have I used the solution?

Personally, I have used the solution for about 15 years at this point. It's well over a decade. I've used it for a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been great. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's reliable. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The Microsoft team never responds fast in Turkey. I cannot say they are fast. Unless you have some Enterprise agreement, they're not quick. However, I find that when I deal with the same technician a few times, they are quite good and very helpful. They are very capable. They know what they are talking about. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Oracle Servers. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial implementation is easy and straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult to set up.

However, it's not just the server we have to set up. We have a cluster environment. Mostly it's just, click, click, click and you are done, however, the configuration process is a bit more difficult. Adjusting performance levels, in particular, can be a real challenge.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The enterprise version of the solution is very expensive and most companies would likely find that they wouldn't be able to afford it. 

What other advice do I have?

We're a customer and an end-user.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been very happy with its capabilities. 

I would recommend the solution, however, it will only be effective if the company hires an effective administrator. While there are default settings, you will likely need to configure quite a bit and connect most of your hardware in the correct way. To be effective, it really needs to be tuned by a professional. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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December 2024
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
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reviewer1621938 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior BI Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Overall high quality features, reliable, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the whole solution with all its features wonderful."
  • "If this solution could provide an automatic indexing feature it would be very useful."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for SQL Server is data warehousing and business intelligence.

How has it helped my organization?

This solution acts as the backbone of most IT services. It is essential for us to use it.

What is most valuable?

I have found the whole solution with all its features wonderful.

What needs improvement?

If this solution could provide an automatic indexing feature it would be very useful.

In the next release, there could be better integration with Power BI or other tools.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. There has been a few bugs but all solutions have them at one time or another.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are scalability limitations and this is why we are evaluating cloud alternatives. 

I rate the scalability of SQL Server a four out of five.

How are customer service and technical support?

We provide support for our clients but if we need support we receive it quickly because we are prime customers.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently evaluating cloud options.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise those wanting to implement this solution to thoroughly investigate if this is the right tool for their use case.

I rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
GF at Innopact GmbH
Real User
Extremely mature, scalable, and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The product has been on the market for over 25 or 30 years. It's an extremely mature solution."
  • "Technical support could be faster."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for data storage. We use it for its data warehouse, BI services, and AI.

What is most valuable?

If you compare the SQL Server with the block storage it's stable and it's working. 

The product has been on the market for over 25 or 30 years. It's an extremely mature solution.

The solution is pretty scalable.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward, depending on your requirements.

What needs improvement?

The solution is very expensive. 

Technical support could be faster.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for many years. It's been a while. It's likely been over ten years or so - a decade or more.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It does not crash or freeze. It's very reliable in terms of performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with ease.

Three people are using the solution in our organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've used technical support in the past. However, it's not a very fast support system. For the new Office 365, it's better. This solution still needs to work on support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

For a specific task, we are using this solution. However, for some other tasks, we're using MongoDB, MariaDB, Oracle, or something else. It depends on the task and the solution and the requirements.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is not overly complex or difficult for the most part. The initial setup's level of straightforwardness, however, depends. If you only need an SQL Server, it's easy. If you need a cluster, it's more difficult. If you need a great cluster all over the world, it's more difficult.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the installation myself. I did not need the help of an integrator or consultant.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive. The pricing is different and not really standardized. If you're using it on Azure you pay on your workloads. If you have a separate dedicated instance, you pay for the course. It's different, according to the situation, however, in either case, it's expensive.

What other advice do I have?

We are customers and end-users.

We are using the 2014 and 2019 versions of the solution.

I'd recommend the solution to other organizations and users. However, if it will work for a company, or if it will work for them in an ideal manner depends on the requirements you have to fulfill as an organization. For example, race cars may be good cars, and great products, however, it's for a specific task. For other tasks, it may not be useful.

I general, I'm quite satisfied with the solution and it does what I need it to do. I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
KopanoRamaphoi - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Rpc Data
Real User
Easy to set up and configure, integrates well with other components, and the support is good
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that it is easy to use and you don't have to do a lot of configuration."
  • "More things in SQL Server need to be automated."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

It can be used for different things such as data warehousing and online transactional processing (OLTP). This is a product that I have never used in production, however.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that it is easy to use and you don't have to do a lot of configuration. For example, there is no installation.

When you want to insert data, it is easy to do. For example, if I want to test something then I log into my GitHub account, download what I want, and then upload it to the SQL server.

The integration with other products like SQL Developer is really good. Connecting it to Visual Studio is also quite good.

What needs improvement?

More things in SQL Server need to be automated. We need to do a lot of things, especially on the cloud, and Oracle has better automation for handling these kinds of tasks. Automation is the key, these days.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SQL Server for a couple of months.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With respect to scalability, I can say that the cloud version is scalable. I don't have much to say about how an on-premises deployment scales. However, in general, both Oracle and Microsoft products scale really well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is responsive and quite good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also have experience with Oracle Database. When I compared pricing between the two products, I found that Microsoft was more expensive.

How was the initial setup?

There is no installation. Everything is done by Microsoft and all you have to do is deploy it. The process takes less than five minutes.

What about the implementation team?

I have done the installation many times by myself.

As a cloud-based product, there are no special resources required for maintenance. Once you deploy it, you just want to make sure that the data is displayed or presented in the way that you want it. Most of the technical work is handled by Microsoft.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is a charge for this product if you are using it in production. For development, there is no cost. The pricing from Microsoft is quite expensive compared to Oracle.

What other advice do I have?

In summary, this is a good product, I plan to continue using it, and I definitely recommend it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Software Developer at OATI
Real User
I use it to fine tune my procedures and functions
Pros and Cons
  • "Tuning Advisor suggests where to add indexes and from where to remove them. It works like an adviser."
  • "SQL Server Profiler makes finding and debugging easy."
  • "I use it to fine tune my procedures and functions."
  • "Third-party services from Redgate should be built-in to it, like SQL Search."
  • "Debugging from the debugger tool functionality should be enhanced."

What is our primary use case?

I use SQL Server to optimize SQL queries and find the estimated cost of my queries. 

I also use it to fine tune my procedures and functions.

How has it helped my organization?

  • SQL Server has maintained my database problem in an arranged manner.
  • SQL Server Profiler makes finding and debugging easy.
  • Support for third-party tools, like SQL Search.

What is most valuable?

  • SQL Server Profiler: Know exactly which procedures and functions are being called and how much read and write they are taking.
  • Tuning Advisor: It suggests where to add indexes and from where to remove them. It works like an adviser.
  • Storage capability
  • Debugger: The debugger tool can execute code step-by-step.

What needs improvement?

  • Third-party services from Redgate should be built-in to it, like SQL Search.
  • Debugging from the debugger tool functionality should be enhanced.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

It is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have been using SQL Server from the start.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

In-house.

What was our ROI?

It is good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The setup cost is high, but it will return every penny.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Data Analyst at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
We're able to easily upscale previous systems to provide an efficient interface for our internal clients to do their jobs effectively

What is most valuable?

The ability to organize and structure our data in order to extract and provide it to various products and systems within our organization. It is widely used and has great online support from many third-party sites.

How has it helped my organization?

We're able to easily upscale previous systems to provide an efficient interface for our internal clients to do their jobs effectively.

What needs improvement?

Learning SQL could be easier. Some inbuilt tools to enable faster query writing would be very useful.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used various versions for at least 25 years, on and off.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No, none.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When upsizing, some tools do not do a very good job of scaling efficiently and lots of after tweaks need to be made.

How are customer service and technical support?

From Microsoft -- poor/very expensive, but there are many other helpful resources out there.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Used MS Access, but data ports became too large for it to support, so we needed a product to take us to the next level as our data ports grew.

How was the initial setup?

A lot of initial reading was required to carefully manage the process of setting everything up correctly.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Not my area.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No, others evaluated.

What other advice do I have?

Do your homework first and be prepared for a tough learning curve.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Enterprise Architect with 51-200 employees
Vendor
We're able to create an end-to-end automated BI platform, but we'd prefer hosting multidimensional OLAP instances with Tabular rather than the either/or installation.

What is most valuable?

  • Business intelligence platform
  • Analysis services (multidimensional and tabular)
  • Relational database features
  • Data extraction and transformation (integration services)

How has it helped my organization?

It provides the ability to create an end-to-end automated BI platform through data management and provisioning, transformation and publication.

Data platform development process improvement: Integrating the features of Visual Studio Team Foundation Server data projects for SQL Server development. Allows for smooth operation between development environments in conjunction with an agile process to release database changes.

What needs improvement?

Hosting multidimensional OLAP instances in conjunction with Tabular, rather than the either/or installation.

OLAP multidimensional ongoing maintenance - automated partitioning or interface for streamlining the mechanism within the cube and data layers.

Integration Services: There is a great deal of room for improvement here in that thepackages are the least extensible part of the platform. Even with the feature ofplatform variables, since these are not easily managed and deployed. Our testers have had a great deal of difficulty swapping environments, particularly where the connection information changes (underlying database name, for example). Changing servers with identical database names is less problematic.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it since its release in 2012 until now.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were some avoidable issues, primarily due to a lack of scaling in our own design.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There were some avoidable issues, primarily due to a lack of scaling in our own design.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Online information for SQL Server is extensive.

Technical Support:

I did not have the need to contact technical support for any reason.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Open Source database and OLAP solution was found to lack stability, and required the installation of many moving parts in order to have a complete stack. These services don't always work together well, and the various online communities would frequently blame the other for issues.

How was the initial setup?

It's straightforward to install a new instance, but more complex if new features are added to an existing instance. Deployment of SQL code is efficient through Visual Studio database project development methodologies.

What about the implementation team?

I have used both in-house, and vendor teams for implementation, both with very high levels of expertise into different aspects of database development.

What was our ROI?

It's very high as the data platform is business-critical.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don’t concentrate on this issue, but rather the necessary features and the version required.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other oprions were evaluated.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure that you have an experienced database administrator to implement the infrastructure of the solution.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
GaryM - PeerSpot reviewer
GaryMData Architect at World Vision
Top 5LeaderboardReal User

Howard, yes our database name/server name changes across the environments. We manage this via visual studio configuration environments when creating the ispac or doing deployment from VS but that's just for initial setting defaults to show up within the jobs so we don't have to manually worry about them getting set correctly in the job parameters. The trick is making project parameters (package also works if in the driving package) do all the work for you in the connections by using a simple expression to set the connection values at runtime using those parameters. If your problem is that staff hard coded connections with no parameter override then that's a pretty serious staffing competency issue rather than technical problem.

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